Didier Drogba: Manchester United will not beat Chelsea

DIDIER Drogba has sent a defiant Premier League title message to Manchester United that there is no stopping Chelsea this season.

Didier Drogba believes Chelsea have what it takes to take the Premier League title

Striker Drogba restored the Blues’ five-point advantage over United at the top of the table with two goals in the stunning 3-0 victory over Arsenal.

With the Gunners, Liverpool and Tottenham even further back, the title chase is looking increasingly like a race between Chelsea and United.

And Drogba has warned that Chelsea are now capable of leading from the front for the remaining five months of the campaign.

“We have the team to stay ahead of all the others,” said Drogba. “When you are top of the league it is good because you only concentrate on yourself. There are no teams on top of you. They have to chase you, they have to produce more and have to make more effort to win games. It’s good for us.

“We have a good gap and we just have to keep winning our games.”

Chelsea have beaten United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham this season, with a trip to Manchester City to come on Saturday, and Drogba believes Carlo Ancelotti’s men hold a vital edge over their rivals.

“Our strength is that we are able to switch it on when it matters,” said Drogba, 31. “Even against United, when the game was really difficult, we won it.

“We know how to go through difficult periods. When the game is hard we know it is important to score when a chance arrives and we can do that.”

Drogba, Michael Essien, John Obi Mikel and Salomon Kalou will all go to the African Nations Cup in January but, even without them, Arsenal’s Tomas Rosicky agrees it will be tough for any club to catch Chelsea.

“They will lose some players to the African Nations Cup and there could be injuries, so everything can still happen,” said Rosicky.

“But if Chelsea continue to play like they did against us until the end, then it will be difficult for anyone to stop them.”

Chelsea are hopeful Ashley Cole will be fit for the trip to City after he suffered a hamstring strain against Arsenal.

But Cole, 28, is likely to sit out tomorrow night’s Carling Cup quarter-final against Blackburn.

Cole beat the boos of the Arsenal supporters, who are still upset about his move across London, to set up Drogba’s opener and prompt the own-goal from defender Thomas Vermaelen.

Frank Lampard believes the jeers only gave Cole more motivation to show just why his Chelsea team-mates believe he is the best left-back in the world. “I don’t think booing ever works and I don’t know when people will learn that’s not the way to do it,” said Lampard.

“The best thing to do is to stay quiet, watch the game and cheer your own team.

“Putting your efforts into getting someone more psyched up to do a job against you is obviously the wrong way to go about it.

“Ash is very experienced in dealing with it now, he’s had it a few times and it obviously spurs him on to give a performance like he did on Sunday.

“For the last two years he has been completely out on his own as the best left-back. I mean that, out there in the world.”

Arsenal have threatened to ban the supporter who threw a fake camera on the pitch towards Lampard.

The FA will investigate the incident and the Gunners will study CCTV footage to try to identify the culprit.